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(ModeL) 0| Ml DRYING FLOOR FOR HOP HOUSES.

Patented July 17, 1883.

h UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORVILLE M. KNOX, OF ONEIDA, NEXV YORK.

DRYING-FLOOR FOR HOP-HOUSES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent Ho. 281,273, dated July 17,1883.

Application filed January 15,1883. (Model) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ORVILLE M. KNOX, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oneida, in the county of Madison and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in the DryingFloors for Hop-Houses, of which the following is a specifica tion.

My invention relates to improvements in drying-floors for hop-houses, inwhich certain slats are laid edgewise upon a plate of wood or metalbetween upright supports from said plate, said plate resting upon joistand fastened thereto, said slats being secured in position by aplate-holder and screws, and so arranged as to permit a greater volumeof heated air to pass up from the heated room beneath, through saidslats to the hops arranged therein for drying.

The object of my improvement is to afiord greater facilities for dryinghops; to save time and labor in drying them by improving the conditionof the hops, when dried, by drying them with greater uniformity; to drylarger quantities of hops at the same time and within the same space,and to generally facilitate the process of drying hops. I attain theseobjects by the mechanism and combination illustrated in theacccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a section ofbase-plate B, with upright supports 0 G, and spaces intervening toreceive the slats A A. Fig. 2 represents a. detached view of therelative position of base-plate B, the slats A A, plateholder H, screwand holes I J K, and joist G. Fig. 3 represents the floor complete,excepting the covering of thin fibrous material to prevent the hops fromsifting through the floor. Fig. 4 represents a section of said floor.

, Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

G is the joist and support of the floor.

B is the base-plate supported by joist G.

C G are the upright supports from and form a permanent part ofbase-plate B, with intervening spaces.

A A are the slats, which are inserted edge- K K are screw-holes runningthrough and securing p1ate-holder H, supports G O, and base-plate B tojoist G. I are screws to secure the same, all as hereinafter set forth.

I attain. the construction of the floor as follows: J oist G constitutesthe ground-work of the floor, and is a part of the building. Upon joistG, I place base-plate B, which is an iron, metallic, or wood plate madein sections, of convenient size and length, and is placed upon joist Gof the building. Itis fastened to and supported by joist G by means ofscrews through the plate, or by pins or staples over projections fromthe sides. It is provided with upright supports 6 C. If a casting ofmetallic substance, they form one piece; if of wood, the supports 0 Oare set into slots or grooves in the upper face of plate B, and are madepermanent by means of pinning, gluing, or

screws. The slats AA are put into the spaces between the supportsedgewise until the floor is laid. They are of wood, and of convenientlength, width, and thickness. They are secured at the ends thereof, andwhen necessary, after being placed in position, by plate-holder H H.This plate-holder is of sufiicient size, length, thickness, andstrength. and fasten it upon the supports C 0 whenever needed forsecuring the slats A A in position. It is set into slots or grooves inthe slats of equal depth with the thickness of the plateholder H, andfastened down by means of screws I. Screw I is put through plate-holderH, supports 0 C, and base-plate B, into joist G, making thus secure andpermanent the entire floor, as represented by Fig. 3. This floor iscovered by a thin cloth or fibrous material, over which are spread thehops for drying.

I claim as my invention and I desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Ina hop-drying floor for hop-houses, the combination, in the floor, of joist G, base-plate B, with upright supports 0 G, with slats A A, andplate-holder H, with screw Iand screw- I lay it over holes J K, puttogether, each adapted to the other and permanently constructed, asherein described.

2. In a hop-drying floor, the combination of the slats A A, thebase-plateB, resting upon and supported by joist G, fastened asaforesaid, provided with upright supports 0 O, the slats A A, O 0, putin edgewise between the supports and plate-holder H, fastened over andup- IO on the supports 0 0, set into slots or grooves in the top ofslats A A, at the ends of the slats, and Wherever required to make thefloor firm and to secure the slats in position, as and for the purposessubstantially as above set forth.

ORVILLE M. KNOX.

Witnesses:

E. O. STARK, WM. H. BAKER, ELVERTON CHARLEs STARK, \VILLIAM MATTISONBAKER.

